A wild and windy start to the day, with a strong southerly wind roaring through the woodland, sending the yellowing leaves of Sycamore and Ash tumbling down onto the paths, where shoals of crisp brown Holm Oak leaves rustle and swirl.
In the shelter of the Aviary Glade, a Treecreeper scuttles up the trunk of a towering Sycamore, with another seen on a Monterey Cypress a little further up. High up in the canopy a Raven ‘cronks’ as it struggles to keep it’s balance on the topmost branches. Near the top of the Play Trail, a Jay bursts out of the scrub with a startling cackle.
A really spectacular walk along the cliffs, as huge breakers roll in from the south-west, smashing into the cliffs at Durlston Head, sending plumes of spray right up to the clifftop and filling the air with a misty haze.
Out at sea, 12 Gannets pass by, their plumage catching the golden sunshine, with a skein of Brent Geese silhouetted against the horizon. Close to shore, a Rock Pipit dodges the spray as it darts along the clifftop.
A Kestrel battles to hold it’s position above the Lighthouse Field, as a Roe Deer bounds, loose-limbed down the slopes of the Gully.
Among the sheltered Blackthorn, Bramble and Hawthorn, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Blackcaps weave among a tangle of dirty silver Old Man’s Beard as they feed, with a few yellow Gorse flowers adding splashes of colour.
Higher up the slopes, a flock of Goldfinches settle gently onto the bare branches of an Elder, their tinkling calls somehow cutting through the wind.
A few Woodpigeons passing through, with a Peregrine Falcon also on the wing.